Trolley switch-plate.



E. HBYDON. I TROLLEY SWITCH PLATE. APPLICATION FILED 2123.13, 1909.

Patented Sept 28, 1909.

Ilma' e i E lilllllllIllllllllllilIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIII @Hoff/m54,

m' x the wily lf ndinim A? im 15 wil El ST The s the ed p prlrmfm L,

prow-n feds" ihm* o form )le Whn Slow Spe" mi ...@1'

pff'

wen

Wue m the (m muy 111:1 50 L0 to G0 lmes 31 lies upon the under face of plate 10 and 'is thoroughly protected from the weather by flanges 11 but, in order that thiC switch tongue may be operated by a mechanism cheap to 1nanuiacture,yet of such character as to be weather prooi", l have adopted the following construction. Tongue 31 at its pivotal end, is'providcd with a tip 31 of about halt the vertical depth oi' the tongue which tip passes into a pocket 33 formed between platey 10 and an overhanging or tending portion of guide 13. pivot 34 is dropped into an opening formed in the upper part of plate 10 in the bottom of groove 14, and extends into suitably i'ormed passages in tip 31 and the adjacent portion of guide 13, the arrangement being such that pin 34 is held in place, although it may be loosely inserted, because the main trolley wire will lie upon its upper end.

Formed in the under face oi' plate 10 above the top ot` tongue 31, is a groove 41 which extends transversely across the space between llanges 11 and out through said flanges. Mounted in groove l1 is a shitting rod 4Q which is connected to tongue 51 by means of a pin 43 passed through hole l. and threaded into the .tongue 31, I n order that pin 43 may not be accidentally jarred out of place l prei'er to so proportion the parts that this pin can only be inserted into the shitting bar through an opening 4l]- which is threaded to receive one of the clamping screws Surrounding 'the operating bar and continually urging it in such direction as to cause tongue 31 to normally lie in alinement between guide members 12 and 13, a spring 45 and, in order that this spring may be protected from the weather l inclose the same in atube 4G secured to the main body 10. The operating bar 112 is adapted to be connected, by any suitable connection with the switch stand at the siding so that, when the track switch is open in order to permit a car to take the siding thc tongue 231 will be thrown into position to connect the main line with the siding Wire but, as soon as the. track switch is thrown back to normally closed position in order to permit. another car to proceed upon the main line, tongue 31 will be automatically returned to its normal po sitiogi by .means of spring 4:3. lt is very necessary in an apparatus of this kind not only that the trolley wheel may proceed over the apparatus at a. high rate of speed without liability ot' displacement, but also that the apparatus be of such character that it be readily removed, Jfor replacement and repair without dismantling or disconnecting the general overhead construction in such way as to delay passing cars. ln order to aecomplish this result therefore7 I have provided trolley-wire receiving fingers for the outer end of each oi' the guides 12,13 and 1G. Each oi these fingers comprises a main body 51 which is flanked by a pair of oppositely eX- tending perforated ears 52, the main body 51 being adapted to fit down into a channel 1i and be held in place by means oi bolts 53 passing through the cars 52 and ears 2l ot the main body 10. Each linger 51 comprises a pair ot' .separated flanges '55, 55 which form between them a semicylindrical socket adapted to receive the trolley wire and these iianges are decreased in vertical height toward the extremity of the finger so that, when a wire has been placed between the flanges, said flanges may be hammered down around the wire, and also so as to form a gradual approach for the trolley wheel to the extremity ot the guide 12, 1&5 or 1C, thus preventing any injurious arcing at these points. It will be immediately apparent that, if any trouble occurs with the mechanism, the main plate 10, together' with the parts carried immediately thereby, may be readily removed from the trolley wires without disturbing said wires by detaching the fingers 51 from the guides 12, 1o and 16 and by Ydetaching the `guy wires from the ears Q4.,

thus permitting plate 10 to drop down away from the remaining struct-ure.

It will be noticed that the movable parts of the switch plate are thoroughly protected from the weather so that they cannot become 'frozen up by sleet. It will also be noticed that the structure is one which may be readily and cheaply cast and assembled.

I claim as my invention 1. A trolley switch plate comprising a main plate having a wire guide at one end, a pair of diverging wire guides at the other end said wire guides having the trolleywire receiving channels formed in their npper surfaces, means for attaching trolley wires to the outer ends of said guides, a switch tongue pivotally mounted on said plate at the inner end of the single guide and adapted to be laterally thrown into conjuno tion with the inner ends of the pair of diverging guides, means :tor shifting said switch tongue, a wire-receiving finger having a main body adapted to fit in the outer end of the groove in the upper `face of each guide and provided with a pair of outwardly decreasing iianges adapted to embrace the trolley wire, and means :tor detachably clamping said lingers to said guides.

2. A trolley-wire switch plate, comprising a. main body, a pair of alined guide mein bers carried by the under face of said main body and having their innerends separated a pivoted switch tongue arranged to bridge the space between said guides said switch tongue being pivotally connected to one of the guide members by an overlapping portion and a pivot pin dropped therethrough from the upper side of the plate, a diverging guide carried by the main plate at one end thereof and arranged to coperate with readily removed from the trolley wires withioA out throwing the same out of commission.

'3. The combination with the main body of.

a trolley-wire switch piate having a Wirereceiving groove therein, of a wire-receiving finger provided with a pair of wire embracing tianges decreasing in depth from a ldimension sulcient to substantially embrace a trolley wire to a dimension materially less than sufficient to embrace a trolley Wire, whereby a gradual approach from trolley wireto switch plate may be produced, and means for fastening the switch plate t6 the trolley wire and for fastening the \virereceiving finger to the switch plate.

4. 'A trolley-wire switch plate, comprising a main bodydiaving a transverse groove formed in its under face, a bar slidably mounted in said groove, a pivoted switch tongue-mounted upon the under face of the main body and vc.\;tending over the sliding bar, an operating connection between the said sliding bar and the switch tongue, a rib carried by the under face of the niain body and associated with the pivotcd end of the tongue, a pair of separated diverging ribs carried by the under Jface of the main body in position to cooperate Withthe free end ot' the switch tongue, Y'and a spring acting upon the sliding bar to normally urge the same in one direction. i

5. A trolley-wire switch platefcomprising a main body having a transverse groove formed in its under face, a bar slidably mounted in said groove7 a pivoted switch tongue mounted upon ,the under face of .the main body and ektending over the sliding bar, an operating connection between the said' sliding vbar and the switch tongue, a rib carried by the under face of the main body and associated with the pivoted end of the tongue, a pair of separated diverging ribs carried by the under face of tlegnain body in position to cooperate with thev free end of the switch tongue, a spring acting upon the sliding bar to' normally urge the same in one direc-tion and a housing carried by the main body and inclosing said spring and adjacent projected end of the sliding bar.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, indiana, this 8th day of February, A. D. one thousand nine. hundred and nine.

EDWARD HEYDON. [L s] Wlitnesses z i ARTHUR M .I-oon, Tnoinxs W'. h/CMEANs. 

